Far-right politics in Germany

Following the fall of Nazi Germany and the dissolution of the Nazi Party in 1945, the far right in Germany quickly re-organized itself, but it has always remained only a marginal factor in German politics with no representation in the Bundestag.

The total number of potentially right extremist individuals in Germany was estimated by the Verfassungsschutz (Federal German intelligence) to 31,000 as of 2007, of which an estimated 10,000 were classified as potentially violent (gewaltbereit).[4] In 2011, the Verfassungsschutz reported a total of 25,000 right-wing extremists in Germany, including 5,600 neo-Nazis.[5] In the same report, 15.905 crimes committed in 2010 were classified as far-right motivated, compared to 18.750 in 2009; these crimes included 762 acts of violence in 2010 compared to 891 in 2009.[5] While the overall numbers have declined, the Verfassungsschutz says that both the number of neo-Nazis and the potential for violent acts have nevertheless increased, especially among the growing number of Autonome Nationalisten ("Independent Nationalists") who gradually replace the declining number of Nazi Skinheads.[5]

German statistics show that in 1991, there were 849 hate crimes, and in 1992 there were 1,485 concentrated in the eastern Bundesländer. After 1992, the numbers went down, although they have risen sharply in subsequent years. In four decades of the former East Germany, 17 people have been murdered by far right groups.[7]

Some German neo-Nazis use early symbols of the Reichskriegsflagge predating the introduction of the Nazi swastika, and therefore are legal in Germany.

German law forbids the production of pro-Nazi materials.[citation needed] Nazi paraphrenalia have been smuggled into the country in one case for decades.[11]Neo-Nazi rock bands such as Landser have been outlawed in Germany, yet bootleg copies of their albums printed in the United States and other countries are still sold in the country. German neo-Nazi websites mostly depend on Internet servers in the US and Canada. They often use symbols that are reminiscent of the swastika, and adopt other symbols used by the Nazis, such as the sun cross, wolf's hook and black sun.

Historian Walter Laqueur writes that the far right NPD cannot be classified as neo-Nazi.[13] In 2004, NPD received 9.1% of the vote in the parliamentary elections for Saxony, thus earning the right to seat state parliament members.[14] The other parties refused to enter discussions with the NPD. In the 2006 parliamentary elections for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the NPD received 7.3% of the vote and six seats in the state parliament. On March 13, 2008, NPD leader Udo Voigt was charged with incitement (Volksverhetzung), for distributing racially-charged pamphlets referring to German footballer Patrick Owomoyela, whose father is Nigerian. In 2009, Voigt was given a seven-month suspended sentence and ordered to donate 2,000 euros to UNICEF.[15]